Where is the new starter's laptop?
A client asks for three laptops for new starters in two weeks. The account manager checks prices on two distributor portals, builds a quote in a spreadsheet and emails it. The client approves by replying 'yes please' a few days later. The purchase order is raised on the distributor portal. One laptop is back-ordered, which the distributor mentions in an email that goes to a shared inbox.
On the Friday before the start date, the client asks whether the laptops are ready. Two are in the build room. The third has not arrived. Nobody knew it was back-ordered. Meanwhile, the monitors that were also approved were never ordered, because they were on a second line of the reply email.
Why hardware orders get lost
Procurement is a side job for most MSPs, run through email and portals, and each step is done by a different person.
- Prices change daily, so quotes go stale.
- Approvals arrive as email replies, sometimes with changes.
- Orders are raised on distributor portals and not recorded in the PSA.
- Back-order and delivery updates arrive in a shared inbox.
- Build tickets are raised when the hardware turns up, not when it is ordered.
Clients change their minds, too. A request for three laptops becomes four after a hiring decision, or the model changes after the client sees a colleague's machine. Each change comes by email, sometimes after the order has gone, and the quote, the order and the invoice slowly stop matching.
What lost orders cost
| Slip | Effect |
|---|---|
| Quote expired | Margin lost when the price rises before ordering |
| Part of the order missed | A new starter without a monitor or dock |
| Back-order unseen | A missed start date and an unhappy client |
| Hardware not invoiced | Kit paid for and never billed |
| No link to the asset record | Warranty and ownership unknown later |
The quote-to-install tracker we build
- Quote building with live prices and stock from your distributors' APIs where available, and your margin rules applied.
- A quote sent to the client as a link with an approve button, so approval is a recorded action, not an email reply.
- On approval, purchase orders prepared for each supplier line, for a person to confirm and send.
- Order status and delivery updates pulled from distributor APIs or parsed from their emails, with back-orders flagged at once.
- A build ticket created in your PSA when the order is placed, with the expected delivery date and the new starter's start date.
- An invoice raised in the PSA or accounts package when the hardware is delivered, and the device serial numbers recorded against the client for asset and warranty tracking.
Many PSAs include procurement modules, and some distributors offer quoting tools. We check those first, and only build what they cannot do for you.
After: every order has a status
The account manager builds the quote in minutes from live prices, and the client approves with one click. Purchase orders go out the same day. When the distributor reports the third laptop as back-ordered, the account manager sees it within hours and offers an alternative model while there is still time. The build ticket shows expected dates, so the service desk plans the build.
When the hardware is delivered, the invoice is raised and the serial numbers go into the asset record. A year later, when a laptop fails, its warranty and purchase date are one click away.
Changes after approval are handled too. If the client later asks for a different dock or an extra monitor, the account manager revises the quote, the client approves the revision, and only the difference is ordered. The approval history shows every version, which settles any question later about what was agreed and when.
Recognise these hardware headaches?
- Client approvals arrive as email replies you have to interpret.
- Back-orders are discovered when the kit is late.
- Hardware has been delivered and never invoiced.
- Build tickets are created when boxes arrive.
- Serial numbers and warranty dates are not recorded.